mcnach

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1434223805' post='2797815'] I picked up at GB74 off of Ebay last month for ~£240 or so. Maybe less. Mine is the 'open pore natural' finish with the black pickguard. From the top, in my opinion: Good points: The neck! I've never played a bass with such a solid neck. It fits perfectly in my hands and I have not had to touch the trussrod at all. The body! It is like my Fender Jazz,but with 20% of the unnecessary bloat lopped off. It is very comfortable to play and balances really well. The bridge! Seems to be a higher mass unit than your usual Fender unit. The tuners! Licensed Hipshot Ultralites rather than anonymous Fender clones. Keeps the balance right as well. Bad points: The preamp! They used a generic 3-band unit in these, with the bass and treble controls stacked and the mid control allocated its own pot. I found that the treble control didn't dial out enough treble for me, so you cannot get that pillowy Motown sound out of the instrument. The stacked knobs were also loose on mine and I had to remove washers to get the whole thing to tighten up again as the thread had been worn off the pot by the previous owner. I pulled the preamp out and replaced it with an Alembic Stratoblaster clone. The bridge pickup! On my GB74 this pickup was wired with the coils in series. It overpowered the neck pickup badly, and didn't sound very nice. I detected a baked-in mid-range bark on all settings. I rewired it in parallel. Did Cort screw up? The black wire was connected to hot and the white wire connected to ground! Perhaps the previous owner Barry'd up the bass before I got it (they broke off a pickguard screw and superglued the head back onto the pickguard leaving the broken shaft buried into the wood. The neck pickup! A squashy single coil that doesn't blend well with the bridge pickup. If you EQ your rig for the tight, rubber-bullet attack of the bridge pickup then you won't have a tone that also works with the mooshy output of the neck pickup. It sounds a bit like a P bass, but somehow lacks balls. I stuck a stacked Carvin humbucker in neck slot and have not looked back! The slap switch! What is this thing? A preset EQ curve? In my opinion Cort build a beautiful looking bass, did a brilliant job on the fit and finish of the body and neck, but half-assed the electronics. There is a reason 100% of the Youtube videos of this bass feature some guy slapping away. Great for brittle slap tones but not so hot for other uses. I've modified mine to be an all-round instrument. [/quote] good review! I agree with a lot of it. Mine is incredibly light too... I have some pickups in my drawer that I mean to use on it (Seymour Duncan SMB4A and Nordstrand NJ4SE, leftover from previous projects) and a John East U-Retro preamp... One day, one day. Perhaps I should have it sprayed shell pink too... and I am only half joking! I've played a few gigs with it as it is... not the best, but it does work.

[quote name='such' timestamp='1434208533' post='2797650'] I wouldn't (and won't) hesitate to have another one built by those guys, but this time I'll make sure to specify the hardware and electronics to my exact taste so there's absolutely nothing I don't care for about the bass. [/quote] exactly my feeling!

[quote name='shemeckfrac' timestamp='1434207292' post='2797634'] Now this got me wondering; despite all the praises about workmanship, sound and value Spyder ended up selling his Jake 5, Elmwood 4 pair and Meypelnek his custom PJ5 shortly after receiving it. Is it possible that there is no long lasting love to these basses but only the GAS lust ? It's really these people's business but from the potential buyer point of view I'm dying to know why [/quote] I don't know... My Jake is as accurate to what I asked for as possible. I don't *love* everything about it, but what I don't love about it I only have myself to blame for. For instance, the neck is wider and a bit deeper than a "stock" Jake, closer to my Precision Classic 50, as I indicated. He nailed it. The neck is amazing. The string spacing at the nut is a *tiny* bit smaller than I would prefer... I did not indicate this measurement. Easy to change, 'though, especially as these basses have a zero fret so the exact nut slot heights are not crucial. Also, the P pickup is a bit darker and scooped... I went for their stock pickups rather than specifying my favourite one... Just my fault. Again, easy to rectify. Mine cost just about what a Fender Precision Classic 50 costs... but I was able to specify many parameters (a lot of them at no extra cost). For another couple hundred you could add a few extra things that would rival basses costing twice as much... They'll do just about anything you ask. The build quality is superb. I strongly suspect my next bass will be another Maruszczyc.

My Classic 50 Precision. There are many others I love, but this Precision is the one (ask me next year and we'll see )

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1434187864' post='2797399'] Hi chaps This is what's happened - you've probably gone back a page during the listing/paying process and as such both 'items' have been added to your basket. You need to start all over again, probably clear your cookies too. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any problems ped [/quote] like this

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1434151002' post='2797256'] You post some good stuff man, but why wouldn't you just email the mods about this rather than start a thread. I just don't get it, [/quote] Why not? If something was not clear to him about the process, I'm pretty sure he would not be the only person to benefit from the answer. Emailing the mods would solve his problem. As a thread, it could help others too. Don't you think?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1434058106' post='2796417'] Good call - I think I read somewhere that the GB Streamliner is the amp Barefaced use to test their cabs. If so, gotta be a good pairing. [/quote] Not sure that's true, but I could believe it. I use my BigBaby2 with the Streamliner 900 a lot. Great combination.

[quote name='ballstomonty' timestamp='1434095158' post='2796542'] Lucky I checked my spam mail today. My gumtree replies have gone there. The guys reserved the 50s precision for me! Going to pick it up today! [/quote] great! don't forget to report back... with pictures!!!!!!!

[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1434061336' post='2796446'] I've never liked the look of those Yamahas, the styling really puts me off tbh even though I know loads of people like them and last time I played one it had a ridged surface to the end of the pickup which was uncomfortable on my thumb. Have no idea if they are stil like that. Also I'm looking at cheaper brands which are known to have good low B strings, the cheaper Yamahas I've tried have been a bit floppy and indistinct which I'm looking to avoid. Haven't tried that model in a 5 though and I've liked the more expensive Yamahas, In fact one of the best basses I've played was a TRB 6er (so it should be for over £2k!). I think the choice is between a Cort or one of the Sires. The Sires are an unknown quantity but have been reviewed so well across the board Hmmmm, that sounds like the opposite of what I want! The pre on my existing Cort has a very useful Bass voicing, no idea what frequency it is but it's higher than the bass knob on my LMII (which is 40hz IIRC?) and fattens up the sound without getting boomy which makes dialing in low end really easy. I'm really not a fan of boomy bass eqs on preamps, one of the reasons I sold my last 5 string was because of this. The one I was looking at is this one: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251989764877?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT"]http://www.ebay.co.u...K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT[/url] It's the 3 band eq version with what I'm guessing is the slap switch. Maybe it has different electrics and will sound different, who knows! Comes with a case though which I could sell on for around £20 as I only use gigbags. [/quote] That looks like it has different electronics entirely to mine, being a newer model too. The pickups are different too.,, So my concerns about the pickups and electronics may not apply here. Personally, I'd go for this one over the Sire. Cort generally build good basses. If you don't like it, I don't think it would be too hard for you to sell it on without losing money... and it's a beauty!

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1433776023' post='2793841'] There aren't any USA SUB for sale in the shops (I like to try before I buy), and I liked the neck and body shape of the sterling SUB much better than the other variants available in the shop (sterling ray34 and stingray). [/quote] The USA MM SUB neck is just like the Stingray, while the SBMM SUB is thinner... so if you prefer a thin neck, the MM SUB would probably not be your favourite. There's also the look... the USA ones can be a bit... ugly. However, if you don't mind the uglier finish *AND* you do like a Stingray (sound, neck, etc), then the USA one is a great choice. Both SUBs are quite different.

[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1434056845' post='2796404'] Thanks again, a bit worrying about the preamp mcnach. The Mighty Mite and stock pre in my current Cort are actually capable of some great sounds so when I go and look I'll take it along for comparison. I like a very clean sound so your idea of too polite might be my ideal tone! Thanks for the views, it's very much appreciated. [/quote] You're right! It's not a BAD sound, at all. But not what *I* would like. Of course, different people like different things, so you might find it pretty good sounding indeed The good news is it's easy to change pickups if not. The bass itself is well made. The preamp... I felt the bass control added too much "boom" without fattening the sound enough. I guess I'd want more low mids. The treble control I rarely touch on a bass. It's a great bass... I was just pointing out the things that separated it from perfection

[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1434010005' post='2795820'] Just out of interest there seems to be two different control setups on these - one with 3 pots, a stacked pot and a switch while the other is two pots, a stacked pot and two switches. What's the difference with these? [/quote] I have the 4 string version. It's a pretty cool bass, and mine is extremely light too which was nice. Very comfortable. I don't like the electronics much, 'though. The preamp is "meh", and the pickups are perfectly useable but a little "polite", especially the neck pickup. It works but I keep meaning to replace them. I haven't yet because it's not my main player and I have too many distractions and it *does* work as it is... but if I wanted to use it often I'd definitely replace them. Mine is the version with the stacked pot and two switches... The stacked pot is bass/treble active EQ. The middle one is the balance pot, and the top one is volume. The volume knob can be pulled out and it bypasses the preamp. The switches... the bottom one selects coils for the MM humbucker: one option is series, I can't recall whether the other two positions are one coil and the other, or one coil and both in parallel... The second switch I don't remember what it does, it's a 2-position switch... I *think* it's just an on/off, that allows you to boost bass/treble by a predetermined amount, what some call a "slap switch", but I don't remember for sure. Whatever it is mine is always in off position.

[quote name='Greggo' timestamp='1433964149' post='2795532'] All goes well I'm swapping a guitar that's surplus to requirements for a Westfield jazz bass copy this week. Ive not had a bass since January now due to selling off some kit so thinking this will be ideal as a bass for recording / occasional jamming etc. Anyone owned one of these and what did you think? I've got a Westfield less Paul copy that is brilliant so if that is anything to go by hoping this bass will be great too! [/quote] I bought one of those used for £40 a while ago... and I loved it. I installed a J-Retro preamp for a while, because I liked the extra versatility, but it's back to passive again now. I gigged a few times with it and if some of you have the bad taste to buy the reissue DVD of "The island of death", you can see an early incarnation of my band playing a version of the main theme on the bonus features, and I'm playing the Westfield there. In short: a lot of bass for ridiculous money.

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1434029856' post='2796093'] Well, the Roland isn't coming off as the best option in this thread! Thanks for all the posts, if I get a chance to actually try the cube out I'll still give it a pop, but if I'm buying blind the Qtx sounds the safer bet, even though I won't be able to store (hide!) it quite so neatly! [/quote] The QTX is not as big as I thought from the stock image... compare it next to my bass:

It wasn't me! I promise!

[quote name='ballstomonty' timestamp='1433946629' post='2795336'] Thanks again for all the advice. Sound to me is more important than looks our band looks authentic due to lights,lasers and projections more than having right looking gear. Our drummers kit is nothing like nick masons for example. Just seen this on gumtree and I've asked seller for more photos serial number. At that price this baby could be the one. [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/fender-classic-series-50-s-precision-bass-black-maple-rrp-£909-/1120196751"]http://www.gumtree.c...909-/1120196751[/url] If it's genuine ad I'll be very pleased with this. [/quote] That's a steal! Take it, take it before I do as I am planning a trip to Manchester! I love the Classic 50 Precisions.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1433868275' post='2794715'] At the 8.5lbs I was expecting, they would reduce the risk. At the 7.2lbs it turned out to be, they almost certainly avoid neck dive. Mind you, it doesn't feel close to tipping over. I don't know how they've done it.... [/quote] The neck must be filled with helium!

[quote name='mrn1989' timestamp='1433867773' post='2794712'] I'm not a fan on the control layout, think Stevie Wonder drilled it [/quote] yeah, that's a little odd! when will you receive it? I hope it plays nicely. I'm not a big fan of that kind of bass, but I can see its beauty!

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1433840877' post='2794366'] How long does it last after a full charge? I'm quite intrigued now... [/quote] I don't know, I never used it for more than 2-3h at a time. So it does that at least.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1433839283' post='2794341'] [size=4][sub]I had the Roland and it struggled even in an acoustic instrument environment. I sold it on to The Rev here for use with an upright double bass, don't know if he still has it? I have seen people using a proper 150-200 watt combo powered by caravan batteries and hooked up through an inverter. You do need a trolley however...![/sub][/size] [/quote] Yeah, that's what I was going to do, use my MarkBass little combo and a battery... but once you start adding it all up, the portability goes out of the window, and you would not really be saving much money compared to the QR10PA... So I gave it a try to see, as it was cheap enough. Happy I did! There is also a 12" and a 15" version, and I think the 15" is higher wattage too... but the 10" is so light and easy to take with me, I don't think the extra bulk/weight was worth it. I know someone who just went for the 12", we have to meet at the park sometime and try them side by side

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1433835368' post='2794287'] I've tried the roland one but I've never even heard of the QR10PA so I can't speak for that Does it actually sound like a bass? not twangy and honky? * having just checked it out it looks like a pretty sizable piece of kit so I'm sure that'll be miles better than the small battery powered Roland. [/quote] It's not the best bass sound in the world, but it *does* sound like a bass and projects well enough when busking. I know what you meant 'though, a lot of practice bass amps sound all midrangey and "meh" with small cabs etc. The QR10PA simply works. It's not huge, but it can do bass pretty well. The tone shaping is very limited, so an external EQ pedal can be a good thing. I used to use a Zoom MS60B with it, for EQ and tuner and it was nice to be able to use one of the amp sims to give it a nicer sound... but the MS60B eats batteries like crazy, so you needed to bring extra batteries. I ended up ditching it and just taking my Korg tuner with me. In addition, the QR10PA has a lot of other features... most of them not very good, but it does give you an option to run mp3 directly from USB, which can be nice for those who go solo and use some backing tracks. But the extra microphone and other extra things are not good at all.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1433776226' post='2793845'] The trouble with these mini battery amps is they really don't have enough power to be of any use.. They are loud enough but it won't sound like a bass guitar. [/quote] Have you tried them? The QR10PA definitely sounds like a bass...

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1433690295' post='2793115'] This looks pretty good for doing a SH impersonation [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Japan-57-reissue-Precision-Bass-PB57-Dirk-Blue-Finish-Made-in-Japan-/311376380885?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item487f7a83d5"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item487f7a83d5[/url] [/quote] yum! the Japanese 57RIs are lovely!

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1433670678' post='2792886'] vDo you mean this one? [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_50s_precision_bass_mn_fr.htm?sid=bb572062ec2e8097dfe8e9b7be372519"]http://www.thomann.d...fe8e9b7be372519[/url] £653; SH £799 [/quote] That's the one. Although I thought the SH was around £900 so the price difference is not as big as I thought. I have one of the Classic 50s myself (shown on my avatar, I just replaced the pickguard as I don't like the anodised gold ones), it's one of the best Precisions I ever tried. The black one is very sexy too The neck on these basses is really nice, you should have a go and see what you think. They're wide and not as shallow as others, but not as chunky as say a 51-style Precision. It's a wonderful profile -for me, of course you may not agree, neck profile business is down to personal taste.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1433670030' post='2792878'] How would you point out a minor misalignment to the shop.They may turn around and say they would fix it for me so I may not be saving unless I order from Thomanm. [/quote] and if they fix it... then it's ok, no? If they fix it for you, it's fixed! They could have done it before you saw the bass in the first place and you'll be happy. There is nothing magical about who does it. My point is... it's really a non-issue! But *perhaps* you can use it to haggle a bit "hmmm, but look at this, the bridge/neck seems out of wack... I might have to take it to a specialist to check it out" blah blah blah... sometimes shops knock off a % off the price for pointing out things like that, if they don't want to bother with it. But, really, it's a non-issue, easily fixable in just about the time it'll take you to change strings...